Peace Corps Volunteer (Africa)

Peace Corps Volunteer (Africa)

Wanderer

sub-Saharan Africa, AF

Female, 28

After spending five years in the corporate world, I packed up my life and moved to a small town in sub-Saharan Africa. I'm officially an Agriculture/Environment volunteer, but I do anything that is needed in my community--teach English, plant gardens and teach neighbors that not all Americans resemble what you see on TV. I have almost two years of experience living like a local in one of the poorest countries in the world, but I've gotten the best experience of my life. Ask me anything!

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9 Questions

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Last Answer on July 18, 2014

Best Rated

What's the HIV infection rate in your country, and as someone who's living there, how would you describe the general attitude towards the disease?

Asked by dilecta about 10 years ago

Very low, less than 1.4% overall. In my town its half that.

So much aid money is thrown at HIV/AIDS that everyone is extremely knowledgeable, they can rattle off answers to questions and know minute facts about the disease. While there is still a lot of stigma, most infected people live within the community without issues. There are PLWHA (People Living with HIV/AIDS) associations all over that give support through education or trainings and even monetary.

The part that gets scary is when people truly believe Americans created HIV to infect Africa. So I'd say that attitude isn't good, but for the most part, HIV brings in aid money so if people can get involved, they're willing to.

324 Votes

Do you think the expansion of technology is helping the developing world catch up to 1st-world countries, or only serving to widen the gap as Western nations get access to the latest and greatest?

Asked by Janis about 10 years ago

I think it depends on how you frame this question.

Do I think expansion of technology is helping the part of Africa I live in to further develop/shrink the gap between first world countries? As a whole, no. But that's not the technology's fault, it's the government's. 

Do I think expansion of technology is helping *some people* in the part of Africa I live in? Absolutely. The average person here isn't obsessed with having the latest and greatest, having something that isn't obsolete is good enough to help expand their horizons, increase business opportunity and improve their lives.

Overall, I'd like to think that yes, expansion and access to technology is a positive thing, but only if put into the right hands. My best friend here lives in a town that goes without power and water on a regular basis, but he has an iPhone. How is that helping develop the country?

298 Votes

How dangerous is it where you're stationed? Do you face more or less danger because you're american?

Asked by LIG about 10 years ago

Overall, I feel very safe here. As an American I get more harassment and targeted more often for theft, but people in my town also feel responsibility for me and I never fear for my safety. That said, I also have to be smart about what I wear, where I go and what time I get home at night to minimize risks. It's partly being an American but mostly because I'm female.

As for the danger in my country... There is a lot of fundamentalist militant activity in the region and even in parts of my country. With a few exceptions, we're not allowed into those regions and Peace Corps has a strong emergency plan in place in case we need to be evacuated. But as I said, overall I feel safe.

295 Votes

Could you see yourself living in Ethiopia long-term or would you get too home-sick for all the modern conveniences, etc?

Asked by AA about 10 years ago

I don't see myself living in Ethiopia long-term, but not because of "modern convenience" (which does exist here) but more due to the predominate perception that foreigners = free money and many of the government's policies. I could go more into it, but that's the crux of why I wouldn't stay, not due to lack of the lifestyle I'm used to.

286 Votes

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Is it true that George W. Bush is seen as something of a hero in Africa because he provided a ton of relief money toward AIDS and other humanitarian causes there?

Asked by thatguybrian about 10 years ago

I wouldn't say he's seen as a hero, but a lot of people do like him. On the other hand, a lot of people like Obama.

Bush had PEPFAR, Obama has Feed the Future. Both have their followings, but if you're basing hero status just on the aid money flowing in, no one is a hero. Aid money is seen as a bit of a right by a lot of people I work with, no matter who it comes from... and they always want more.

282 Votes

What diseases are you at risk to in Africa that don't exist in North America?

Asked by lAURA about 10 years ago

You can get almost anything tropical in Africa, plus a lot of other worldwide diseases, even things that have been eradicated for a while in most of North America. Some of these still exist worldwide but are rare, so I decided to cover a lot of what you can get instead of just the differences between the two continents.

I had to get almost every single vaccination known to mankind... so diseases that could be contracted but have a vaccine: yellow fever, polio, typhus, diptheria, pertussis, Hep A, Hep B (even potentially Hep C, D, etc), measles, tuberculosis, meningococcal, mumps and rubella. Rabies is also more common than in North America and any dog, cat or monkey bite requires a rabies shot.

Others that you can contract here but rarer: Loa loa, botfly, shistomaiasis, Leishmaniasis, African trypanosomiasis, elephantiasis, malaria, ebola and onchocerciasis.

Then there are mostly water or food borne diseases that can be quite common: giardia, cholera, dysentery, salmonella, typhoid, even E. coli.

However, you'll only contract most of these if you aren't taking proper precautions (i.e. not filtering water, eating old food, not wearing shoes, not using a bed net, swimming in still lake or pond water, etc). I've been here over 18 months and haven't gotten anything (to my knowledge). Peace Corps takes good care of it's volunteers and not only covers all the vaccines we need that we don't already have, the medical staff makes sure we are aware of all the most common issues in our individual countries but also supports us in finding out what is wrong in case something is wrong.

Please note this is not a comprehensive list, just a list of everything I know about.

279 Votes

What country are you in, and is it politically stable? Do you ever live in fear of violent uprisings or local warlords?

Asked by Hench about 10 years ago

I'm in Ethiopia and yes, it's considered politically stable, but "brittle." Basically the country has a lot of political issues but it's unlikely to break down within the next decade. Ethiopia has a long history of supressing political opposition and has become more and more repressive since the EPRDF came to power in 1991 (although it's people consider the current regime MUCH better than the previous ruling party, the Derg).

I don't have any fear of a violent uprising or local warlords, they're pretty much kept under control by the current government.

276 Votes

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